Give.

On Expectation and the Human Heart

It is often said that one must do good without expecting anything in return.

The statement is noble, but the heart is not a slogan.

Expectation arises not from greed alone, but from relationship.

A good deed carries warmth, time, attention, and inner effort.

To hope that it is seen, acknowledged, or at least received with grace

is not weakness—it is humanity.

Disappointment does not erase the goodness of the act.

It only reveals the tenderness of the giver.

True maturity does not lie in denying expectation,

but in not allowing unmet expectation to harden the heart.

One may feel hurt, yet remain kind.

One may feel unseen, yet continue to see others.

Perhaps the highest form of service is this:

to keep doing good,

not because it is rewarded,

but because it reflects who we have chosen to be.

 The Return I Did Not Ask For

I gave, saying, “Nothing I seek,”

Yet waited—quietly—for a sign.

Not gold, nor praise, nor loud applause,

Just a glance that said, I know.

When none arrived, the heart asked why,

Its ache betraying borrowed vows.

For flesh remembers every touch,

Though words pretend to soar above.

Still, the deed remains—untarnished, whole,

Its worth not measured by reply.

The loss was not the gift I gave,

But the story I told myself.

Now I give again, a little wiser—

Allowing hope, forgiving pain.

If nothing comes, I bow and place

The act itself at God’s feet.

For goodness needs no witness loud,

And love need not be returned to live.

To do good without expecting anything at all is often quoted as an ideal, but in lived experience it is rare. Even when we tell ourselves we expect nothing, a subtle hope lingers—if not for reward, then at least for recognition, remembrance, or warmth in return.

Expectation is not always selfish.

It is often the soul’s wish to be seen.

Why expectation naturally arises

A good deed involves energy, time, emotion—the mind instinctively seeks balance.

Human relationships are built on response and resonance; silence after goodness can feel like erasure.

Even saints were acknowledged by society; invisibility is not a virtue in itself.

So the struggle is real:

“I did not want anything… yet I feel hurt.”

That hurt does not cancel the goodness.

It only reveals our humanity.

What the scriptures quietly imply (but slogans overlook)

The Bhagavad Gītā does not say “do not feel”.

It says do not cling.

There is a profound difference between:

having an expectation

and being bound by it

The mature path is not:

“I will never expect anything.”

But rather:

“Even if my expectation is unmet, I will not let it corrode my inner peace.”

A gentler, truer reframing

Instead of “I serve without expectation”, perhaps a truer vow is:

“I accept that expectation may arise,

but I will not let disappointment turn me bitter.”

This is compassion towards oneself.

Bhakti offers a different anchor

In bhakti, the act is quietly redirected:

The acknowledgement is offered to God

The return is internal—śānti, clarity, lightness

When service is placed at the feet of the Divine,

human responses become secondary, not decisive.

Still, even bhaktas feel pain when unacknowledged.

That pain itself becomes an offering.

A closing reflection

Perhaps the highest honesty is this:

“I do good because I cannot not do good.

I may hope, I may hurt—

but I will not stop being good.”

That is not slogan-level virtue.

That is earned wisdom.